ABSTRACT
Over the course of the past 20 years, the term “damage control” has become a part of the common vernacular among trauma surgeons, general surgeons, and orthopedists. Initially conceptualized as a temporizing measure to stabilize the victims of penetrating trauma, it is now a widely applied algorithm that has become a standard of care within the trauma community. The combination of damage control resuscitation concepts with damage control laparotomy (DCL) has seemingly continued to decrease mortality rates even further. Cotton et al. compared outcomes in 282 patients who underwent DCL before damage control resuscitation techniques with outcomes in 108 DCLs coupled with damage control resuscitation: The 24-hour and 30-day survival were significantly higher with the addition of damage control resuscitation (88% vs. 97% and 76% vs. 86%). Morris et al. found an overall complication rate of 1.09 complications per patient, with eight positive blood cultures, six intraabdominal abscesses, and abdominal compartment syndrome in 16 patients.
